Connecting rods are used to connect the piston and the crankshaft of an internal combustion piston engine. After usage such rods frequently are reworked for reinstallation into an engine. Such rods comprise a small end having an opening therethrough for attachment to the wrist pin of the piston. The other, or large end of the connecting rod is fitted around the crankshaft. For attachment to the crankshaft the large end is formed in a semicircular shape and there is bolted thereto a cap completing the opening which receives the crankshaft. Connecting rod bolts are passed through holes in the cap and through the end of the connecting rod. By tightening nuts threaded onto these bolts the cap holds the connecting rod on the crankshaft.
During usage the edges of the rod and cap forming the openings through which the wrist pin and crankshaft pass will gradually wear due to the relative movement therebetween. During rework of the connecting rod these openings must be rebored or honed. For boring the crankshaft opening, the cap is removed and the bolts must be forced from the connecting rod holes. Thereafter the abutting surfaces of the connecting rod and cap are machined, the bolts are reinserted into the connecting rod and the cap is replaced. At this time the crankshaft opening is honed or rebored to the proper size and circular configuration.
In the past the connecting rod bolts are inserted by use of a hammer or at times the connecting rod is heated so that the bolts can be placed into the thermally expanded opening. In most shops which rework connecting rods, a brass hammer is used to pound these bolts from the connecting rod and subsequently to reinsert the bolts into the connecting rod holes. Naturally such pounding on the connecting rod can result in damage or breakage. It is especially true that the newly ground surfaces on the connecting rod can be marred while reinserting bolts into the holes by pounding them with a brass hammer.
It is the purpose of this invention to provide an improved tool which can be used with a hydraulic press for easy and safe removal and reinsertion of connecting rod bolts.